A comparison of the marriage-role expectations of college women enrolled in a functional marriage course in 1961, 1972, and 1978

The Dunn Marriage Role Expectation Inventory was used to compare the marriage-role expectations of female university students enrolled in an introductory marriage and family course in 1961 (N=72), 1972 (N=58), and 1978 (N=115). The 1978 group was significantly more egalitarian than the 1961 group in overall marriage-role expectations and on each of the seven subcategories of authority, homemaking, child care, personal characteristics, social participation, education, and employment and support. The 1972 group was also found to be significantly more egalitarian than the 1961 group in overall marriage-role expectations and on all subcategories except authority. The 1978 group was significantly more egalitarian than the 1972 group only on authority and homemaking, with no significant differences on overall marriage-role expectations or on the other five subscales. The significant move toward more egalitarian attitudes toward authority and homemaking is accentuated by the fact that only 6 years separate the 1972 and 1978 groups, while there is an 11-year difference between the 1961 and 1972 groups.The data were collected in February 1961, January 1972, and September 1978. Special acknowledgment and appreciation are expressed to Jessie Ringo (retired) for making the 1961 data available for this study and to William F. Kenkel, Department of Sociology, University of Kentucky, for his helpful comments.